In the fast growing world behavior,
culture, society and everything changes in our nation. The paper presents an
analysis on dimension of culture and society in Chetan Baghat’s “One Night at the
Call Center” and “Half Girlfriend”. Even the title of the works explains the
changes in society like Call Centers works and changes in relationship and
culture. Due to the improvement of technology and globalization people are
trying to follow western culture where as some people are still trying to follow
traditional culture. Culture that a person follows changes automatically due to
impact of technology and society in his life.
Culture resides in the
hearts and in the souls of the people in a society. Culture and society in
which we live are inseparable. As culture changes, naturally the society also
changes. Chetan
Baghat’s “One Night @
the Call Center” and “Half Girlfriend” enables us to make a clear understanding
about the changes that are prevailing in society and culture. In modern world,
we neither follow our Indian culture perfectly nor western culture. Modern man
struggles between these two cultures.
In “Half Girlfriend” Madhav Jha, a
Bihari boy, hardly speaks English and struggles a lot when he was interviewed
in Stephen’s. But he managed to get a seat there as he is good in playing
Basketball. Everybody in Stephen’s speaks English well and Madhav don’t. Those
people who can speak English well looks down on the people who can’t. The same
situation had undergone by Madhav in this novel. Students of Stephen’s mocked
him whether he came for the interview for Peon. Madhav Jha, the protagonist, is
from Royal family of Dumraon in Buxar district, Bihar. In Dumraon his mother is
running a rural self-financing school. In Bihar people had to walk at least two
kilometers for water.
Every politician’s office always
has people to wait outside. In Dumraon the villagers are supposed to wait
outside of the veranda to meet MLAs. They are getting power one hour a day
while MLAs like Vijay Ojha are living sophisticated life. Ojha doesn’t care for
people unless he is benefited from them. The Government also didn’t help to
improve rural schools.
Analyzing about the culture the title
itself shows the change in relationship. Madhav wanted a relationship but Riya
didn’t. Riya just wanted friendship but Madhav didn’t. So Riya suggested a compromise and accepted
to be his half girlfriend. In Bihar like in education, tradition that followed by people hasn’t
changed yet. When Madhav returned from Stephen’s his mother known to villagers
as Rani Sahiba arranged for a ceremony. The district collector, the police
inspector and local reporters attended the ceremony and pundit placed crown on
Madhav’s head. He was called as “Rajkumar” by the villagers. This shows the
respect people still has on Royal families.
Kusum, dutiful wife of MLA Ojha, is a
typical Bihari woman. Her very first appearance to the readers with her head
covered reveals her dutifulness. She touched Rani Sahiba’s feet to take her
blessings. She was pleased by the attitude of Kusum. Though Madhav’s mother is self-running
a school, her traditional views didn’t changes. She says,
“The over-educated
idiots in big cities .Whenever they don’t understand villagers, they call them
uneducated and old-fashioned.”
On Riya Somani’s visit to Haveli,
she asked her whether Riya is a Punjabi or a Marwari and why she was wearing
tight pants. From this we can understand Madhav‘s mother is a typical Bihari
women who doesn’t want her son to get distracted from their culture. Royal
school of Dumraon haven’t recognized by anybody. SMDC (School Monitoring and
Development Committee) said that they have nothing when Madhav requested to
provide basic facilities to the school. Bill gates’ arrival to the rural areas
of India and Madhav jha’s speech helps the school to get money and recognition
.The government provided some temporary toilets during Gates’ visit so that
they can get a good name from their higher officials.
In Delhi, people of higher class are
having parties, which is one of the influences of Western culture. Riya Somani the
half girl friend of Madhav is a rich girl who lives in a massive mansion .She
invited Madhav for a party in her house .Instead of serving Indian food they
served Japanese food called Sushi to show their richness .Then Riya got married
to Rohan , the son of their family friend and went to London. There she was not
allowed to study and ill-treated by her husband and her mother-in-law .So she
got divorce from Rohan. Unlike Madhav’s mother Riya is a typical girl of modern
India. Her only dream is to be a singer in a small bar in New York.
In search of Riya, Madhav went to New
york and worked in The Gates Foundation .The life and culture of people in New
york is totally different and they have no leisure time to spend with their
family .The author is describing New york as a cold city not only in weather
condition but also in the heart. The people in New York have no time to get the
warmth of love and caring .People are going to bars and partying the whole
night. Madhav stayed in Shailesh ‘s house where both the husband and wife has
no time to share their love. Though Riya is an Indian girl, her wish to become
a singer is due to the improvement of technology and change in culture.
“One Night @ the Call Center”
explores the predicament of the call center employees. Chetan Bhagat was
inspired to write a novel about the call centers by his cousins and
sisters-in-law working at call centers ,making him wonder how the begin their
day when the world goes to sleep. With the novel “One Night @ the Call Center”
BPO has come into literature as a fiction. Call center industry is currently
growing sector and Chetan Bhagat tried to explore this call center world and
its culture.
This novel starts with every
agent’s running for catching Qualis to reach in time for night shift. They are
Military Uncle, Radhika, Esha, Priyanka and Shyam. Everyone changed his own identity
lives pseudo-life with a great patience and high stress .They changed their
names as Radhika as Regina, Esha as Eliza, Varun as Victor and so on. They deal
with their working in WASG [Western Appliances Strategic Group] and deal with
customers of home appliances such as refrigerators, ovens and vacuum cleaners
.They are skilled in dealing with troublesome and painful customers .This call center
is about to right-size its staff as it has been in a loss.
Shyam, the protagonist has potential in him
but due to his shyness remains far from success. He refuses to attend the
marriage party and went for work. He hates his work; his highly incapable
manager .He thinks he is a total loser because of the constant de-motivation
from his seniors. The only reason why he is sticking to this job is that it
pays good money and working in some other profession will require more hard
work than he is currently doing. He hates his boss and doing all the works but
getting no credit for it. Priyanka, his ex-girlfriend gets a proposal from a
Microsoft guy he becomes upset. His feelings for her like “Vestigial organs.
They serve no purpose or value. But they give you a pain in the appendix”
.About Priyanka’s decision to marry a rich person, he thinks “girls are strategic.
They will talk about love and romance and all the crap-but when it comes to
doing the deal, they will choose the fattest chicken”. His jealousy leads him
to tap the phone of Priyanka to listen the conversation between her other
fiancée.
Vroom a flamboyant person is an
ex-journalist-trainee and would love journalism but is here make money. He is
not interested in call center job. He loves pizzas, drinking, riding bikes and
thinking over social and global issues .Varun is called Vroom because of his
love for anything on wheel. He is frustrated and stressed because of his
parents live separately.
Priyanka has broken up with Shyam
after a long love affair. Fed-up of her over possessive mother, she is confused
between her likes and her troublesome mother .She wants to become a school
principal and saving money for her B.Ed. She is about to get married to a
Microsoft guy whom she has never met. Priyanka’s mother wants her daughter to
be married off to a wealthy guy .She becomes happy with a proposal from the
family of Ganesh .She says “I am so happy today. Look how god set such a
perfect match right to our door”. Ganesh wants to get married within one month
but Priyanka is not mentally prepared for it .Priyanka’s mother says “ho oh you
don’t have to worry about that. I will work day and night to make it a grand
event”. Like a typical Indian mother she feels when families have fixed the
match there should not be a delay .She considers Shyam as “Useless call center
chap” as he is not settled. Her mother married her dad who was just a
government employee but her sister waited to marry better qualified boys and is
now richer today.
Esha a modern fashionable girl as pairs
to be a top model .As she has moved from Chandigarh to Delhi against her
parents wish ,she lives alone from them .After working at night in the call
center she approaches agencies and tries to get modeling assignments. She had
to sleep with 40 year old designer to get a modeling contract. However later he
tells her that she was too short to be a model. Esha feels an awful guilt and
hates herself for believing people who told her that she could be a model. She
regrets this decision all her life.
Radhika cares a lot for her husband Anuj
and her demanding mother-in-law. She has to work all the night after doing
household chores. She is her daddy’s only daughter but after her love marriage
she has to adjust with Anuj’s ultra-traditional family. While talking with Esha
she tells “being a daughter- in- law is harder than being a model”. When Vroom
pretends as radio jockey to make Radhika happy he called Anuj and told him that
he had won a prize .Unexpectedly Anuj said to send the prize to his girlfriend
Payal.
Military uncle is retired army person who
lives alone and is neglected by his son. He has lot of love for his grandson.
He works to supplement the meager pension .When he sent an email to his
grandson ,his son said that they don’t want his attachments .While all these six persons are on a short journey
the Qualis staggers down .This situation makes them to change their mind.
Due to call center works the life
of characters changed wholly from those who work in days .Indian youth culture
has not remind “Indian” as such because of globalization in each and every
domain culture drastically changed .
References:
1.
Bhagat, Chetan, 2005. One Night @ the
Call Center. New Delhi: Rupa & Co.
3.
Bhagat, Chetan, 2014. Half Girlfriend.
New Delhi: Rupa & Co.
-Shenbaga Priya , Coimbatore
